Thankful Thursday

1. Dreams Coming True-This week I had the pleasure of seeing one of my father-in-law's dreams come true for him. It just gives you the best feeling seeing the look on someone's face when they have literally been blessed from heaven. All I can say is no one deserves it more than Jay!

2. Chicken in a Box-So is it weird of me to get excited over this? I love when Lee's sells their boneless, skinless chicken breast in 25lb boxes. I bring home and seperate it out and I feel like I have a nice full freezer with so many options for dinner. I think I might actually go and buy a couple more boxes....

3. Responsibility-Growing up my parents always let us know that when we were old enough to work we were expected to get a job. When we were old enough to drive we had to pay our own insurance and get our own cars. When we graduated from high school we always knew we either had to find our own place or start paying some form of rent to our parents. I know some people think this is harsh but I am so thankful my parents "forced" responsibility upon us. I know I was much more prepared for the world on my own then I otherwise would have been and as I look at today's world it seems there are so many people who expect everyone else to take care of them. I am so glad that Dirk and I have always been able to take care of ourselves. I hope I can impress these same things upon my children as they get older. Though life can be hard at times it is so much more rewarding when you don't give in and persevere.

Saturday is a Special Day.....

....it's the day we get ready for Sunday! We are still working on that but today has been pretty special for the kids just the same! This morning Lexi had her 3rd soccer game. She has really been enjoying soccer and has even made a couple of goals during practice. Today they won for the first time! The whole team was so excited but they were freezing! It was 36 degrees and halfway through the game it started to rain. I ended up watching the last quarter of the game in the truck with Rayden and Simon. It was just too cold for the baby to stay outside.
After the game Dirk had to run to IFA to get some grass seed and peat moss for the front yard. (Yeah we'll have grass again!) The kids loved looking at the baby chicks. They wanted to get some but I'm not that cool of a mom. I told them they could go visit the ones their cousins have anytime but we don't have a fence so we can't have any. We did decide that they could go look at the pet birds at Petsmart though. Yeeeaaahhh. We were there for an hour and a half and we walked out a little poorer with a beautiful green parakeet. The kids were so excited. Originally Rayden wanted to get a Finch and Lexi wanted a Dove but once they learned that not only could they play with a Parakeet, but also teach it songs they quickly changed their minds. They have promised me many times that they will clean the cage everyday and remember to give him food and water too. I know that will last maybe a week but that is what I am here for, to remind them! They have lovingly given our newest addition the most original name of Pete the Parakeet.

They are in love with him and we now have a pet again. I think this one will be a little less stressful than our dog was. We'll take this one step at a time!

Thankful Thursday

1. Open Windows-I am loving this weather! I have had my windows open all week and I LOVE the sounds and smells! I get to enjoy the sounds of lawn mowers, kids laughing, birds singing. I love the smell of fresh grass and barbecues. The breeze blowing through has been so refreshing. I feel so renewed with my windows opened!

2. Slobbery Kisses-Simon loves to give me kisses and I am the only one so far that he has done this too. Maybe that is because I am the only one who will tolerate the slobber that goes along with it but I love it! He usually precedes his kisses with calling for "Hanne.' (Yeah, my baby refuses to call me Mom! If you ask him to say Mom he says, "No, Dad!") Then he plants a big one on me. Did I say how much I love this?

3. Prayer-I know I've said this before but I am saying it again. I am very thankful for prayer. Sometimes it is the only thing to keep me afloat!

Thankful Thursday

1. Recipezaar.com-I love this website. Whenever I am stuck on what to make for dinner I can usually find something here! I have found some of my favorite recipes at this site! A bonus is the fact that it gives you the nutritional facts for each recipe so I know whether or not I am feeding my family healthy or not!

2. New Shoes-I don't know what it is about shoes but I adore them! I seriously have a shoe fettish. There is just something about the first time you wear new shoes. I always feel so new and made over. I love feeling like my feet look good no matter what the rest of me looks like!

3. Warm Sweaters-I already put away all of the snow clothes so with snow again this week I am glad my kids have lots of warm sweaters I haven't packed up yet! This next week is suppose to be nice and warm in the high 60's to 70 degrees. I really hope the snow is at an end but maybe I will keep the sweaters out just a little longer just in case.

Bright Eyed and 1

I can't believe my baby is 1 already! All day I felt like I was dreaming, but it is real enough. My little guy had a birthday today!
I really enjoy getting my kids new clothes for special occasions and holidays. Tax Day doesn't really fall into either one of those catergories but since it is also Simon's birthday he got a new outfit that fit both occasions!

I thought it was funny, at least! Simon LOVES airplanes so I really wanted to make his cake related to that. I was browsing the internet for ideas when I found this airplane cupcake pan. Of course I had to buy it and I spent the most part of today working on his cake. I really like how it turned out and I get to claim all of it's success entirely to myself this time!

Simon just sat in his highchair and watched me ice the airplanes. He couldn't wait to get his hand on one! We had Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen over for dinner as well as Dirk's sister Amanda and her husband Jesse. After dinner we opened presents and then Simon was allowed to eat his cake. When we first gave it to him he started to fly it around. He even was making airplane sounds. I tried to get it on video but as soon as he saw the camera he stopped and watched me. It was really cute though! After a couple of minutes he took a little taste. The airplane was doomed from that second on!

He demolished the cupcake and it was all in his hair and he drooled red frosting all down his stomach. Good thing we remembered to take off his shirt! Here is a really cute picture of Simon showing Mommy how old he is. He is such a smart little booger!

My little Si-man,

I can't believe how your first year has flown by! You have brought so much happiness and laughter to our family. You always have a smile for us and you know how to make us laugh. I love watching you follow your sister and brother around. You want to be as big them so bad and you try so hard to copy them. You learn so easily and they love to teach you new things. I hope you guys will always be close. You like to follow Mommy around too. I love the feel of your sweet little arms wrapping around my legs when you catch up to me. You really enjoy books and we spend time every day sitting together and reading. Sometimes you like to turn the pages a little too fast but we get there in the end! Daddy is your best buddy. When he is home you keep him in your constant sight. He is where you get your love of planes from. You are the cutest thing when you help him work on all of his model planes! The propeller fascinates you. It seems like everyday you surprise us with new words and skills. Before we know it you will be all grown up and no longer our baby. I'm so proud of you and I know you are going to continue surprising us in the future with your smarts! I love you so much and can't imagine life without you little bud!

Mommy

For Sale

Funny story, when Twilight came out I went to buy myself a copy. The store only had the single disc in stock so I bought it thinking it was no big deal if I didn't have the extra features. Well, that doesn't work so well for me. Last week I found the two disc dvd for only $2 more than what I paid for the single so I bought it. Now I have a single disc copy I don't need. It has only been watched twice. If you haven't gotten yourself a copy yet and you don't care about all the extras let me know. I paid $15 for it and I am willing to part with it for $10. First come first served. :)

Easter Weekend

Just to warn you there are a lot of pictures with this post! Our Easter actually started last week at my parent's house. They were leaving to go on a 3 week trip so we all got together for the annual egg hunt. Since the weather was so wet and cold we had the hunt inside. It was pure mayhem but all the kids had a great time finding their eggs! Even Simon thought it was great for about a minute and a half.

At our house the Easter bunny always visits on Saturday night if the kids are really good and help clean the house up. Dirk and I decided to take them out to dinner since our plans to barbecue were ruined by another rain storm. On our way back we had to stop at the grocery store for some eggs. On the way home a beautiful rainbow had appeared and from the grocery store it looked like the end was right on top of our house! It was a gorgeous rainbow and I wish I could have gotten a picture of it. I told the kids maybe the Easter bunny came by rainbow and was at that moment at our house! Sure enough when we got home there were 3 baskets waiting for the kids. (Thanks Jay and Celia for putting them out!) The kids were so excited to get their kites! Simon ran around the family room with his trying to make it fly while Lexi and Ray made Dad take theirs outside to see if there was enough wind.

Sunday morning we pulled out my easter egg story and told the kids all about Christ's ressurection. It was fun listening to them try to say that big word! They got really excited to see what was in the next egg but they would lose focus every once in awhile. I just hope some of the message sunk in. They also got to color their eggs before church. I completely forgot to buy egg dye and I am out of food coloring so the kids colored their eggs with crayons this year. It was a lot less messier and they didn't seem to care just as long as they got to decorate their eggs! Since it was Sunday and I wanted them to remember the real reason for Easter we had them watch Christ's story on TV while they were coloring.

It was quite the adventure trying to get them ready for church. I really don't like 1:30 church sometimes! We finally got them calmed down enough to eat some lunch and get dressed. Pictures were an adventure but we got a couple of ok shots!

After church we went for our second easter egg hunt at Reed and Stef's house. The kids were so excited and they got LOTS of eggs! We went home with 3 very full baskets!

As is tradition in the Sorensen family we went to Old Main Hill and rolled our boiled eggs down. This being Simon's first easter I was excited to see his reaction to throwing eggs. When we got there he had fallen asleep! We let Lexi and Ray start rolling their eggs and, boy, did they get their exercise! After they rolled an egg they would chase it down the hill and see if it survived. Then they would come running back up the hill to show us. Rayden loved when they would break apart!

Being the great mom that I am I was not real happy that Simon had fallen asleep, so I had Dirk wake him up. I don't him it was so Simon would go to bed tonight but we all know my real reason! Once Simon was fully awake he had a blast rolling his eggs! Since he is so little his eggs didn't break easily so he got to roll them a lot! It was a lot of fun to watch him.

It was great weather for a great Easter and I am really glad we got to enjoy it to it's fullest!

Thankful Thursday

1. Sunlit Mountains-I have a wonderful view out my kitchen window. It looks west and I can see the Wellsville mountains really well. This week I was able to look out that window and see the morning sun shining on the snow covered peaks. It was such a beautiful sight! It has made my week a little brighter!

2. Rain-Because it means it isn't snowing! I really do prefer the sun right now but I will take what I can get and be grateful!

3. Candle Light-Nothing is more romantic and relaxing than soft candlelight while watching a romatic movie with my hubby unitl 2am. Quality time together without any interruptions from the kiddos is always a reason to be thankful in my book!

Happy Birthday Alexia!

What a fun weekend! Lexi was so excited to turn 6! She desperately wanted to have a Tinkerbell birthday party, but we convinced her that we would have to wait until the Saturday after her birthday because we just had too much going on. Ha, ha, the joke is on Lexi! She was so surprised when Dirk brought her home on Saturday to a house full of friends in fairy wings!

Lexi was so disappointed a couple of weeks ago that her friend wasn't having a surprise birthday party that I decided to go ahead and make hers a surprise. It was a lot harder to plan than I thought it would be! Have you ever tried to plan a party when the birthday girl is at school? She is a very vigilant child and I was hard pressed to keep it a secret! We were able to pull it off though and she was very surprised!

I have to thank my sister, Liesl, for this gorgeous cake. Lexi found a picture of a Tinkerbell cake like this a few weeks ago and I knew there was no way I could pull something like this off! My sister is awesome at doing cakes so I enlisted her help. I did bake the cake and make the rice krispie treat for the top layer but I can't take credit for any of the decorating. Oh, wait I drew the crooked lines on the leaves! We got the cake all done on Friday afternoon. That night I took Liesl's kids to our house for a sleepover so her and Travis could celebrate their anniversary. I guess they went home to find that the dog had gotten on the counter and licked the bottom layer of cake so Liesl spent some time remaking the whole thing! We'll just chalk that up to another birthday cake disaster for Lexi! I really love how this cake turned out!

For the party we did all sorts of fairy things. We made our own fairy wands and had fairy makeovers with lots of glitter and pixie dust! (Trust me my house is still sparkling everywhere I turn!) We did a fairy puzzle and got to watch some of the Tinkerbell movie while we waited for parents! The girls really enjoyed eating the fondant flowers and leaves on the cake too! I am sure they all went home on great sugar highs! Yes, even I dressed up as Tinkerbell to the delight of many a mom!

I can't believe that my little girl is soooo grown up! She's my first baby and the one that took us the longest to get, but has been a complete joy since she entered this world! Lexi is such a positive little girl. She always can find the bright side to everything. She loves to help me take care of her brothers and takes her roll as the big sister very seriously. The other day I found her bossing Rayden around and I asked her to let me be the mom. I will never forget her reply, "But Mom, someday I will be a mom!" She is trying to learn everything she can about this important role in life and I hope I can live up to being the best example for her I can. I love seeing her every morning getting excited to go to school. I hope that excitement never wears off and that she will continue to love to learn! She is such a little smarty pants!

My Silly Angel Girl,

I love you so much and I can't imagine not having you around. Your brothers look up to you and love you so much. They always are following you around and I love how you try to include them! You have Daddy wrapped around your finger and he seriously loves your puppy dog look. You've got it down! You are my shopping buddy and my reminder when I get off track. I am glad you are there to look out for me, sweetie. You bring such a joy and radiance to our home everyday. Thank you so much for being my little girl and one of my best friends!

Love,

Mama

6th Post Picture

Ha! I should have done this post yesterday! It would have made a great April Fool's joke! Ashley tagged me to post a picture from my 6th post. Here it is! The first ultrasound picture I got with Simon. This was the appointment that they decided I wasn't as far along as we thought and moved my due date three weeks further out. What a tiny little stink!

Question For Hayley

Seriously girl, where did you get the balloons for Enrichment from? I can't get this one down! It has been over two weeks now! Anyone else seen a latex balloon stay up this long?